Colour: Iridescent black, flecked with white in winter months. Short tail, long slender bill.
Size: Length – 7.5-8.5”. Weight – 56-84 grams.
Common nesting areas: Awnings, wall vents/exhausts, attics, soffit, and eaves.
Sounds that may be heard: Singing and chirping, fluttering, and hopping. Also will note signs of droppings around property. City structures and residential homes have allowed starlings to gain access to ideal nesting sites with little effort. Many Starlings choose to migrate south in fall and return in Spring, but there are those who stay throughout the Winter months. Flocks can have up to 700 starlings.
Diet: More than half of the annual food consumed by the adult starling consists of animal matter, including insects, millipedes, spiders, mollusks, and a few crustaceans. They also consume cherries, grapes, apples, and other fruits.
Baby removal: Starlings will have 2-8 eggs (4-6 on average). First flight will usually occur after 3-4 weeks old. Once babies have been located they can be removed and depending on their age they can be removed and set free or removed and placed in insulated bird box away from nesting area to have mother tend to young. And in many cases starlings nests are crawling with mites and should also be treated once nesting is removed. Birds that have gotten into living spaces can be caught and removed while onsite.
PREVENTION METHODS CAN INCLUDE:
Common prevention methods: Bird netting, shock track, wire mesh, bird slope, bird gel, bird spiking and visual/sound deterrents. And in some cases if sparrows have got into an enclosed space a humane one way door system can be set up.
Eaves: Bird spiking.
Ledges: Bird slope, bird wire, spiking, bird gel, shock track.
Enclosed areas: Bird netting, screening, visual or sound deterrents.
Hazards: Can aid in carrying such diseases as Avian Tuberculosis, Turkey Blackhead, Newcastle Disease, Canary Pox, Pullorum, and numerous fungal and protozoan parasites. They also harbor Chicken Louse, the Bird Louse, and the Northern Fowl Mite. Also the uric acid in the feces will corrode stone, metal and masonry.
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